Tidbits of Truth
by RanMouri82
Summary: Scrumptious morsels of Detective Conan from the romantic to the random. *Secret Rivalry - Omake; "Morsel": Sonoko was hungry for details, "Word on the Street": Shiho wondered why she was pegged as the "other woman". Again.*
1. Make A Wish

**Author's Note:** Some of these were posted before, but seemed to work better in a drabble series than separately. They're usually longer drabbles, but they'll vary in length and mood, from the dramatic to the comic, from the romantic to the kinda weird. Enjoy, and please review!

P.S. I haven't forgotten about _The Kudou Files_, but I've been feeling uninspired there for awhile. Thanks to everyone who's posted!

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Title: Make A Wish  
Author: RanMouri82  
Word Count: 429  
Rating: G  
Disclaimer: Detective Conan's owned by Aoyama Gosho, but I just call him A-dawg.  
Pairings: Ran and Shin'ichi, and a little surprise.  
Notes: Ran never thought her wish would come true.

_Make A Wish_

Everyone's voices hushed in the midst of confetti, streamers, and balloons as they were lit: eighteen candles gleaming around a strawberry cake. For Mouri Ran, who had a heart for wishes, they were a flaming ring of hope.

"What are you waiting for?" hissed Sonoko, nudging her with her elbow. "Make a wish!"

_A wish . . . ._

If there was anything Ran could have wished for at that moment, it was the return of someone she loved very much, and that dream was so _close_. Ran shrugged her shoulders with a smile and, drawing a breath so deep it stretched her stomach, blew out every single candle. _Sure, why not?_

Kazuha hugged Ran with a squeal while Heiji rolled his eyes. The Osakan girl cried, "Your wish has _gotta_ come true now!"

"Yeah, but certain people aren't even here," Sonoko grumbled, crossing the room toward the light switch. Before she could reach it, however, a male hand flicked the switch on.

Heiji blinked at the newcomer. "Oh! Hey, Kudou."

From behind the cake, Kudou Yukiko scowled. "Shin-chan! You missed the candles!"

Into the doorway emerged Shin'ichi, looking cool yet sheepish in his grey sweater and khakis as he scratched the back of his head and grinned. "S-sorry, Ran. I was, uh, looking at something interesting—"

"Eh?" Sonoko said, with a snort. "_You're_ the one who decided to host Ran's party at your house, and you run off, missing her blow out the candles to," she continued, scratching the back of her head to imitate the young detective, "look at something interesting."

Ever the silent yet understanding one, however, Kudou Yuusaku suddenly stepped between Sonoko and Shin'ichi and planted his hand on Shin'ichi's shoulder. "I think Ran might actually be interested to know about this, too . . . hmm?"

Ran could have sworn she saw Yuusaku wink. _No, it can't be!_

But before she could protest, Shin'ichi had caught her by the hand and led her into the hallway. "Don't say I didn't warn you," he muttered. Then, with a mysterious smile, he added, "Still, I think Dad's right this time."

As Shin'ichi gently opened the front door to the starlit night, Ran's heart leaped to her throat. _T-this can't be real!_

Ran's eyes quickly readjusted to the darkness. Treetop silhouettes filled the indigo sky with a leafy canopy, framing two, smaller figures that stood close to each other by the gate: Mouri Kogorou and Kisaki Eri. And they were kissing.

Promptly grabbing Shin'ichi by the waist, Ran squeezed so hard, it took his breath away. "Thank you so much! My wish . . . it _worked!_"


	2. Sizing

Title: Sizing  
Author: RanMouri82  
Word Count: 360  
Rating: PG  
Disclaimer: Detective Conan's owned by Aoyama Gosho, but I just call him A-dawg.  
Characters: Shin'ichi and Shiho  
Notes: After the battle was won, he sized her up—but so did she.

_Sizing_

"It's ironic, isn't it, Kudou?"

Kudou Shin'ichi turned toward the sandy haired woman sitting beside him on the ambulance bench and blinked. When he had approached Miyano Shiho a few minutes ago, after Officer Satou had completed her gentle questioning and left, he saw that the young chemist simply sat, gazing into the starlit night as she sipped her mug and tugged her blanket securely around her shoulders. At that moment, all the newly restored teenagers shared was a nod and, after Shin'ichi joined her on the bench, a time of companionable silence.

Chuckling, a sparkle flit across Shiho's ice blue gaze. "It _is_ ironic."

Shin'ichi frowned as, without elaborating, Shiho lifted the mug to her lips once more and sipped, puffing tiny clouds of air into the chilled night. The detective still found it a little strange to look at Shiho; before now, he had only seen her once, and that was a mere instant on a dark roof in the dead of winter. In truth, it was the childish, albeit melancholy face and figure of Haibara Ai that left its imprint in his memory.

"What do you mean?" Shin'ichi muttered, slumping as he rested his chin in his palm and, out of habit, lifted his legs beneath their high seat. "How close the boss's hideout was? Or what happened with Gin?" He remembered the latter with a smile: in a strange twist of fate, Shiho had suddenly emerged from hiding at the crucial moment Gin cornered him and Ran, holding Gin just as Gin once held her sister and even herself—at gunpoint.

But Shiho smirked and shook her head, her reddish hair now streaked by red and white flashes of the ambulance and police cars surrounding them. Setting her mug on the bench, Shiho slid to her feet and stretched, tugging the blanket about her shoulders once more. Glancing over her shoulder, she asked, "You still don't get it? Stand up."

Arching an eyebrow, Shin'ichi did so, stopping short as his eyes met Shiho's . . . nose.

"It's so ironic, it's pathetic," Shiho said, laughing as the great detective Kudou Shin'ichi blushed with embarrassment. "Kudou . . . I'm taller than you."


	3. Codependence in an Ashtray

Title: Codependence in an Ashtray  
Author: RanMouri82  
Word Count: 255  
Rating: PG  
Disclaimer: Detective Conan's owned by Aoyama Gosho, but I just call him A-dawg.  
Characters: Ran and Kogorou  
Notes: The longest distance to a beer runs through an angry daughter.

_Codependence in an Ashtray_

"Hey, Ran . . . hand me a beer, would ya?" moaned the 'sleeping detective' Mouri Kogorou, from his sprawled position in the office chair. He kicked several empties off his desk with his stocking feet to clear space for the liquid refreshment he anticipated _almost_ as much as the upcoming Okino Yoko special.

But Ran, who began to glow an odd shade of red under his blurry gaze, spat, "Are you even _listening,_ Dad? I'm _saying_ that's why mom left! Don't you care?"

"Eh, who cares about that woman, anyway?" he muttered, scratching the fresh stubble on his chin. Craning an arm across the desk without tearing his gaze from the TV screen, he fumbled for his pack of cigarettes and contorted to slip a cigarette in his mouth before lighting it. "So you saw her with some weird vet at a Dog Café. That woman can do whatever the hell she wants," he added, with a subtly angered snort. "You gonna get me my beer, or what?"

"Grrrr . . . go get it yourself!" snapped the teen, who turned on her heel and stormed out the door, slamming it so hard that she knocked Kogorou's prized ashtray to the floor.

For a full minute, Kogorou stared from the door to the ashen heap on the hopelessly stained carpet, and then back at the door. The overflowing trash can that parked by his backside seemed to whine in despair of being emptied. And as the door creaked on its strained hinges, Kogorou blinked in drunken confusion.

"But it's so . . . _far_ . . . ."


	4. Catching Her Breath

Title: Catching Her Breath  
Author: RanMouri82  
Word Count: 336  
Rating: PG  
Disclaimer: Detective Conan's owned by Aoyama Gosho, but I just call him A-dawg.  
Pairings: Ran and Shin'ichi  
Notes: When love found Ran, the best moment after losing her breath was catching it.

_Catching Her Breath_

Slowly, gently, their breathless lips parted, drawing in the chill night air. Ran's head swam as she finally opened her eyes; she had squeezed them shut when the giddiness swelled, throbbing in her ears and drowning her in his embrace. But as his warm breath drifted from hers, her hazy vision began to clear, revealing a pair of shining eyes that gazed into her own, a nose that brushed hers, and Shin'ichi—

Reality jolted Ran and set her pulse racing. _Shin'ichi! _

In a way, their situation was almost comical: two childhood friends, one of them dressed in a green jumpsuit designed to accommodate his shrinking and growing, stood on a greasy dock that smelled of year old fish, surrounded by looming barges covered with barnacles and the oncoming, though still distant, sirens of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police. But beyond all consideration of the criminal syndicate, the FBI, the police, and their family and friends, a twofold secret now lay bare between them. The first part of this secret, Shin'ichi's identity, had exposed itself right before Ran's eyes, but the second . . . .

Scarlet suddenly bloomed on Shin'ichi's cheeks, purpling them against the midnight sky. Ran, too, felt her face burst into flame as the throbbing began to subside.

Coughing, Shin'ichi loosened his arms around her waist; Ran timidly slid hers away from his shoulders and rolled her feet back onto their heels. It was only then that she realized how much the balls of her feet ached from leaning so long.

Sirens began to cry louder; flashing lights swirled around the bend, calling the pair away from this awkward moment.

But then, Ran swallowed hard, hot tears blurring her vision of Shin'ichi once more. With a sob that she no longer had the strength to stifle, she flung herself into his arms and gripped his back, desperate never to let him go even as he drew her closer. The mystery geek she cherished was home.

"Shin'ichi," she whispered, crushing her tears into his chest, "I love you, too."


	5. For a Pimp?

Title: For A Pimp?  
Author: RanMouri82  
Word Count: 179  
Rating: PG  
Disclaimer: Detective Conan's owned by Aoyama Gosho, but I just call him A-dawg.  
Characters: Yumi and Chiba, with a little Takagi and Satou  
Notes: Yumi was so involved with the beats, it forced Chiba to look up from his sandwich.

_For A Pimp?_

Miyamoto Yumi entered the break room, snapping her fingers and swishing her hips to the beat of her iPod. She was so involved with the unheard beats, it forced Chiba to look up from his sandwich and blink.

"Ohhh, mmmmm," Yumi hummed, then proceeded to sing in her best, that is, not so good, English, "_it's hard out there for a pimp!_"

Chiba almost choked on the sandwich. Wiping his mouth, he mumbled, "Y-Yumi?"

Yumi twirled and bopped, oblivious to all else. After about a minute of this, Chiba rose from his seat and tapped her on the shoulder. "Uh, Yumi?"

Though Yumi pumped an arm in the air and seemed not to notice, this time she opened an eye. "Hmm?"

"YUMI!" Chiba shouted, frowning as he brushed the bread crumbs from his shirt.

Rolling her eyes, Yumi finally turned off the music. "Yes?"

Chiba grinned. "Hey, _shorty!_"

Neither officer of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police observed a puzzled Satou and Takagi peering in the door and murmuring to themselves. There was just one word they could not place.

"Shol-tee?"


	6. Deadlines

Title: Deadlines  
Author: RanMouri82  
Word Count: 301  
Rating: PG  
Disclaimer: Detective Conan's owned by Aoyama Gosho, but I just call him A-dawg.  
Pairings: Kudou Yukiko and Yuusaku  
Notes: For a mystery writer, _deadline_ took on a whole new meaning.

_Deadlines_

Kudou Yukiko used to enjoy sitting in the humble café, with its clean cut staff and soft jazz music—when Yuusaku was ditching work. But ever since he bought a laptop computer, the coffee shop became Yuusaku's personal sweatshop: his work there produced ten drops of sweat per minute. Yukiko stuck her tongue out at the simple fact she noticed such a thing.

Dropping her chin on the polished wooden table of the booth they shared, as Yuusaku typed in a sped-up version of Morse code, Yukiko moaned, "If you wanted to work on your novel, you could've stayed home."

"Believe it or not, this place gives me inspiration. Deadline's coming up, so I gotta go with what works," Yuusaku muttered, taking a half sip of his latte before slamming it on the table and releasing both hands to type furiously, as if gaining a fresh burst of said inspiration.

Yukiko glanced out the window with sleepy eyes, drawn by a sudden gust of wind. It tossed the trees on the sidewalk, threw an empty bag of potato chips in the air, and almost flipped a woman's skirt. _Inspiration, hm?_

Just as Yukiko slapped her hands on the table and opened her mouth to tell her husband she was going home, it happened.

_Yeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!_

Both Kudous leapt out of their seats and raced toward the horrifying sound, but if Yukiko did not know any better, Yuusaku sharpened his gaze and—smirked.

Two hours later, after several rounds of police interrogation, an evolution of theories ranging from accident to suicide to murder, and an ultimately brilliant deduction from Kudou Yuusaku himself, Yukiko arched an eyebrow, wondering if after all these years of marriage, she had learned something new. Maybe, for a mystery writer, the word _deadline_ took on a whole new meaning.


	7. Predictable

Title: Predictable  
Author: RanMouri82  
Word Count: 215  
Rating: G  
Disclaimer: Detective Conan's owned by Aoyama Gosho, but I just call him A-dawg.  
Notes: Haibara Ai had heard it _all_ before.

_Predictable_

When Professor Agasa picked up the phone, gave a jovial "_moshi moshi,_" turned pale, and shouted, "Is it true, Shin'ichi?", _this_ time Haibara Ai knew what to expect.

"Professor, let me guess," she said, swiveling in her computer seat. "Kudou just said he discovered something related to the syndicate, and is about to say he's pursuing the lead."

The phone crackled in the air, but the professor clearly heard, _"I'm following them to the car where they agreed to meet with Gin and Vodka."_

At Agasa's startled expression, Ai crossed her arms and stared, unblinking. "Now he'll say that he needs your help to supply an item, stand guard, or both."

"_Professor, I really need a replacement pair of tracking glasses, because mine fell and broke over the cement wall, but it's important that you stick around after that."_

Agasa's mouth dropped open, and he began to ask, "Ai, how do—"

"No, this is the best part, and the most predictable," Ai said, raising a hand to interrupt. "Make sure you don't—"

"_And, professor, make sure you don't—"_

"Tell—"

"_Tell—"_

Ai smirked and joined Conan in unison. _"Haibara."_

When Ai swivelled back in her chair and recommenced typing, the blushing professor could only cough and stammer, "Er, Shin'ichi? Sorry, but . . . I think she already knows."


	8. Not Quite Lost

Title: Not Quite Lost  
Author: RanMouri82  
Word Count: 453  
Rating: G  
Disclaimer: Detective Conan's owned by Aoyama Gosho, but I just call him A-dawg.  
Pairings: Heiji and Kazuha  
Notes: Two Osakans looked for—and found—each other. For Magic Kaito, prompt of "Wagon".

_Not Quite Lost_

Evening fell on the damp forest as Kazuha huffed and gasped her way through and under a sea of branches. They whipped and tore at her thin jacket, but she did not care. "H-Heiji? Heiji!"

This was no longer funny. That idiot was driving her crazy with the way he had slipped from the path, grinning in that impish way of his. In fact, she felt for all the world like a trailer hitch that had lost its wagon. Kazuha grimaced at the thought, knowing Heiji would just use that knowledge to his benefit and call her his "little follower" for eternity.

She was also certain that Heiji had stumbled upon a fresh clue, one he could not allow to expire among the soft heaps of leaves covering the ground with its spiced carpet. But maybe he had stumbled on the way. Forests were dangerous and filled with hidden rocks, ditches, hungry creatures—

"Kazuha?"

"AAAAAAAAH!" she cried, her unbridled scream echoing into the night. Whirling behind her in the pale moonlight, she saw Heiji standing there with a rare, stunned expression on his dark face. A fire sparked in Kazuha's eyes as she yelled, "W-what are you trying to do, idiot, give me a heart attack?!"

"Hmph, of course not!" Heiji growled. Sticking his hands in his pockets, he muttered, "If you gotta know, I was looking for you."

"Me?" Warmth spread over Kazuha's cheeks for a millisecond before she retorted, "Who was looking for who? I've been out here for . . . for hours!"

And against her will, tears rose to her eyes and soreness choked her throat.

Sighing, Heiji edged closer, reaching beneath his cap to scratch his head. "Hey, don't—don't cry or anything. Why didn't you just stay at the campsite?"

Kazuha glanced away, blushing brighter in shame. "I . . . don't know. Just to know where you were, that's all."

For a moment, the two of them stood wordlessly, the whistling wind offering the only sound. Then, Heiji stepped closer and, with a grunt, took Kazuha's hand.

Kazuha blinked her eyes wide.

"Hey, maybe I was . . . ." Heiji frowned, then shook his head. "I'll tell you where I'm going from now on, if that'll keep you from running after me like this."

The ponytailed girl opened her mouth, eager to protest, but stopped. Returning Heiji's softened, green gaze with her own, she realized he was not saying it to push her away.

Kazuha smiled. "Okay."

As they walked away, and their conversation turned toward the newly solved murder case and rose into yet another round of bickering, Heiji held Kazuha's hand as tight as he could. Of course, if asked, he would say he just did that to lead her through the darkness.


	9. A Damsel in Office Supply Distress

Title: A Damsel in Office Supply Distress  
Author: RanMouri82  
Word Count: 392  
Rating: PG  
Disclaimer: Detective Conan's owned by Aoyama Gosho, but I just call him A-dawg.  
Pairing: Satou and Takagi  
Notes: Takagi's helping hand had its limitations. For Candyland, prompt of "A photocopy machine".

_A Damsel in Office Supply Distress_

"Ohhhh, dammit!"

Despite the many efficient office supplies owned by the Tokyo Metropolitan Police, there existed a photocopier known affectionately by the resident officers as Mr. Demon. As Officer Satou's Friday shift neared its end, however, Mr. Demon found itself the subject of her not-so-affectionate expletives.

Satou shoved her fingers into the copier's gaping jaws as far as they could go, which was little more than a centimeter. "C'mon, you idiot, spit it out!"

"Er, can I help you with that?"

Craning her neck beneath her armpit, Satou contorted enough to spy her nervously grinning partner watching her and scratching his cheek. "Sure, Takagi, thanks!" Then, standing akimbo, she growled and whirled on the photocopier with a kick from her polished pumps. "Someone here is holding up my weekend."

"Ah!" Takagi cried, suddenly. Crouching in front of the copier, he opened the broad, plastic door in its side. Glancing up at Satou, he said, "This is the best way to fix jams."

"Oh, really?" Satou asked, kneeling beside him and watching with genuine amazement as he reached for the inner tray and tugged, then tugged again.

Pulling his hands away, Takagi offered her a sheepish grin. "Sorry . . . it's stuck. Give me a minute and I'll—"

But Satou had already grasped the tray and started tugging, straining with all her might against the electronically grunting machine. "Oh, no you don't, Mr. Demon-spawn! Don't you dare think you're getting away with this!"

Takagi's mouth dropped open as he threw his arms wide. "C-careful, Satou, you might—"In a flash, the tray flew out, smashing into both Satou and Takagi's foreheads and knocking them to the floor. "GAH!"

Takagi sat up first and shook away the specks of light that seemed to swim into his vision. Sheets of paper, with and without carbon dust, now littered the floor and spread over his and Satou's precariously entangled legs. Blushing, Takagi leapt upright and offered the far more dazed Satou a hand.

"What the . . . ?" Satou murmured, as the first thing she saw was a hand floating toward her; after she blinked and felt the nice bump forming on her forehead, however, she noticed to whom the proffered hand belonged . . . and the smiling face.

Satou grinned, not surprised in the least.

"Takagi," she said, with a ragged chuckle, as she placed her hand in his, "Thanks for trying."


	10. Playtime

Title: Playtime  
Author: RanMouri82  
Word Count: 248  
Rating: PG  
Disclaimer: Detective Conan's owned by Aoyama Gosho, but I just call him A-dawg.  
Spoilers: Vol. 14 reference  
Pairings: Yukiko and Yuusaku  
Notes: Yukiko thought it was time for a new game. For Candyland, prompt of "Hide and Seek".

_Playtime_

From the moment Yukiko met upcoming mystery writer Kudou Yuusaku, she sensed that they shared something much deeper than fame, youth, and good looks. This _something_ sparkled in his blue eyes, too brilliant to hide behind his thick-rimmed glasses. Yukiko echoed it in the click of her heels and, over time, grasped it between their interlaced fingers. When she accepted his proposal to spend the rest of their lives as husband and wife, she knew they would get along just fine for this reason.

They both loved to play.

As one year of wedded bliss turned into two, then three, each minute was saturated with their quirky brand of Kudou fun. Paris in winter, Hawaii in summer, raising Shin-chan in their grand old house in Japan, even giving the editors the slip had its special prankster charm for them both.

When the long nights began, it stopped being fun—or funny. It might have been funnier if Yuusaku had, on a lark, suddenly popped up at midnight while she sulked behind a pile of dirty dishes, catching her around the waist just to spook her and snicker as she blushed. After he wobbled upstairs at 3 a.m. for the fifth night in a row, however, Yukiko had a better idea. Maybe . . . it was time for a new game.

As Yuusaku always said when she fretted over her son, it was only a hop, skip, and a jump back to Beika. And who said only children could play hide-and-seek?

---

This is an early birthday present for Candyland, who has been lamenting the absence of Y/Y ficcage. Enjoy, and please review!


	11. Secret Rivalry Omake

**Secret Rivalry - Omake**  
(30 Kisses: Ran and Shin'ichi, Ch. 13)

* * *

**Title:** Morsel  
**Author:** ran_mouri82  
**Word Count:** 409  
**Rating:** PG-13  
**Disclaimer:** Detective Conan belongs to two separate, but equally important entities: Aoyama Gosho and his publishers.  
**Characters:** Suzuki Sonoko and Mouri Ran  
**Notes:** Sonoko was hungry for details.

_Morsel_

"So? How'd it go?" Sonoko asked as she and Ran opened their lunch boxes on the school roof. Since Shin'ichi was catching up on coursework, she finally had a chance to talk to her best friend in private. A few clusters of students were scattered around them at a safe distance, according to Sonoko's standards, so she dug into her friend for information as voraciously as she dug into her rolled omelettes. "You confronted that girl, didn't you?"

"Oh, you mean Shiho-san?" Ran said, smiling as she shielded her eyes from the sun and started in on the elaborate lunch she had made. "Yes, you can say that, but it turns out I was worried over nothing."

"You mean you're friends now?" Sonoko said, torn between skepticism and hunger. Normally, at this point, she would ask to snag some of whatever Ran was eating, but she resisted. Romance was always more important than food. "Are you sure she didn't just pull the wool over your eyes?"

Ran shook her head. "Thanks to her, I think I understand Shin'ichi's feelings a little better, and," she said, her cheeks suddenly rosy, "he confirmed that, too."

"Eh, what's this? Are you holding out on your best friend?" Sonoko asked as she nudged Ran. That juicy bit of news was more tantalizing than the _y__asai no nikumaki_ in Ran's lunch box.

"N-no, of course not!" Ran said, though her stammer and blush spoke volumes of the opposite.

Sonoko smirked. Time to alter her strategy. "Too bad. Anyway, I'm sure that detective geek is a terrible kisser."

Ran giggled nervously. "Ah, no, that's not exactly—"

"I knew it! Detective Sonoko has uncovered the truth!" Sonoko said, pointing at Ran and crowing over her triumph. A nearby trio of classmates peered in their direction, leaned in, and started murmuring to each other.

"Stop it, Sonoko!" Ran flew forward and clamped her hands on the other girl's mouth.

"Okay, okay," Sonoko said through her human muzzle. After Ran freed her, they both settled back to their lunches and shared a peaceful silence. Then, Sonoko curved her lips into a malicious grin. "You know, I'm grateful."

"Huh?" Ran said, taking the bait. "For what?"

Sonoko chuckled, pressing her finger onto Ran's cheek. "Now I know the reaction to look for when you two have sex."

"_S-SONOKO!_"

The Suzuki heiress doubled over with laughter as Ran whacked her shoulder with her notebook. It was just too easy.

* * *

**Title:** Word on the Street  
**Author:** ran_mouri82  
**Word Count:** 231  
**Rating:** PG  
**Disclaimer:** These are Aoyama's characters. _Dong dong!_  
**Characters:** Toyama Kazuha, Mouri Ran, Suzuki Sonoko and Miyano Shiho  
**Notes:** Shiho wondered why she was pegged as the "other woman". Again.

_Word on the Street_

"Kazuha-chan! Wait a minute!" Ran said, calling out to her friend in vain as Kazuha, ponytail flying, ran past the library and into oncoming traffic, overwhelmed by a jumble of emotions over whether or not Heiji was involved with another girl. With a glance behind her to Sonoko and Shiho, Ran said, "I'll be right back!" and dashed after Kazuha.

For her part, Shiho sighed. She was the reason Kazuha was now in tears and endangering her life. "Why does every girl think I'm after her boyfriend?"

Sonoko blinked in amazement. "You really don't know? Have you looked in the mirror lately?"

"I brushed my teeth this morning, so yes," Shiho said, with a half-lidded stare at her unlikely companion.

Shaking her head, Sonoko smiled. "You're what most guys at school would call smoking hot."

"Thanks, I think," Shiho said, as the two caught sight of Ran gently leading Kazuha back toward them. The Osakan girl was rubbing her eyes, but looked more embarrassed than angry. "What about the others? What would they say?"

"That would be the geeks from the Computer and 'Pop Culture' clubs," Sonoko replied, curving her fingers for quotation marks. "And you don't want to know."

Shiho nodded in mild agreement, ready to deal with whatever would happen with Kazuha now. It struck her, oddly enough, that she may have just made a friend. She smirked. "Understood."


End file.
